City Beat | How did Hong Kong learn about 'King' Arthur Li's new royal romance?

The man they call "King" Arthur is enjoying a second spring and has fallen in love again - so went one of the most eye catching news stories of the past week. The king in question is Professor Arthur Li Kwok-cheung, the controversial former education minister at the eye of a political storm over his possible appointment to head the University of Hong Kong's governing council.

Li, whose wife died of cancer more than two years ago, has been seen with a pretty lady on his arm. Eastern Weekly published pictures of him picking up his girlfriend from a Wan Chai office building one evening in his sedan - registration AK1. It was later revealed his girlfriend was Monique Ho, a marketing executive at DBC, the digital radio station Li chairs.

Loh Chan, the station's CEO, confirmed to reporters Ho had declared her special relationship with Li to him earlier and praised her professional handling of the situation. Other reports detailed how this cheerful and smart lady had captured Li's heart since the middle of last year, at a time when he was still handling the deep grief from his wife's passing. Some reports suggest the two will marry, a sign Li takes the relationship very seriously.

It's definitely a juicy story and it is natural for people to gossip about how the 70-year-old "King" was attracted to a lady 30 years his junior or what the chemistry between them was, but a look at how this love affair become public is also telling.

Li, from one of the city's most prominent families, is a distinguished professor of surgery. Yet his entrenched "I do it my way" style means he has never been far from controversy since entering politics. His uncompromising personality won him the nicknames "Tsar" and "King". He was divisive even before he was labelled a "fan" of Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying. Besides, his history with Chinese University, HKU's main rival, makes it had from him to win the trust of HKU people, who believe he will always be "hostile" towards them.

To be fair, whether Li really is "hostile" should be judged based on his performance should he be appointed. But like him or not, Li will not change just to please people. In terms of the HKU saga, it seems his appointment - expected on November 6, the day former chairman Leong Che-hung stood down but seemingly held up by protests - has not stopped Li enjoying his new romance.